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Bromleag The newsletter of the Borough Local History Society March 2008

In this issue —

Edwardian village life

A remarkable Chislehurst resident

The ponds of

1930s parade on film Bromleag The newsletter of the Bromley Borough Local History Society

Society officers

Chairman and Membership Secretary — Dr Anthony Allnutt Woodside, Old Perry Street, Chislehurst, BR7 6PP 020 8467 3842 [email protected] Secretary — Mrs Patricia Knowlden 62 Harvest Bank Road, , BR4 9DJ 020 8462 5002 Treasuer/ Publications Officer — Brian Reynolds 2 The Limes, Oakley Road, Bromley, BR2 8HH 020 8462 9526 [email protected].,uk

Website http://bromleyblhs.mysite.orange.co.uk/

Bromleag is published four times a year. The editor welcomes articles along with illustrations and photographs. These can be in paper copy, disk or e-mailed. Items remain the copyright of the authors and do not necessarily reflect Society views. Each contributor is responsible for the content of their article. Articles maybe edited to meet the constraints of the newsletter. Articles are not always used immediately as we try to maintain a balance between research, reminiscences and articles about different subjects and parts of the borough.

Editor — Christine Hellicar 150 Worlds End Lane, , BR6 6AS 01689 857214 [email protected]

Next newsletter deadline — Monday 5 May 2008

2 Bromleag March 2008 Help shape the future Contents of your local history News 3 — 7 Society meetings society? Bromley archives visit 8 — 9 BBLHS aims to promote local history in Books and web sites the borough in several ways: through 10 — 11 monthly meetings, through publications, on our web site and by Orpington: encouraging research. Old films 12 — 14 Last year we changed the format of Local and family history Bromleag and have become involved in 15 , 16 & 19 producing history DVDs as well as written Features publications. We are also developing our Chislehurst: website. Emil Teichmann and With our monthly meetings we try to get Sitka 17 —18 a balance between events that actively involve members, such as our members’ Villages: evening, and engaging and interesting Edwardian rural life speakers. 20 — 25 But are we getting it right? Bromley Common: We need to know if we are reflecting Ponds 26 — 27 your areas of interest or if there are other Reminiscences things you would like the society to do. West Wickham Are there other ways you would like to 28 — 29 be involved with the society and what do you feel would attract new members? Book Reviews In this issue we have included a 30 — 31 questionnaire, which we hope you will take a few minutes to complete and return to vice chairman Michael Rawcliffe.

Everybody’s views are important, as the answers to these questions will help us shape BBLHS for the future.

Bromleag March 2008 3 News

Kent Hundred Rolls – Heritage getting the names right Group Kent Archaeological Society want Cliff Watkins and Beckenham help from local historians in were featured in the December identifying the places and persons edition of Kent Life magazine. in the Kent Hundred Rolls of 1274-5. Cliff, whose articles have often They have put the rolls on line at appeared on these pages, talked http://www.kentarchaeology.ac/khrp/ about Beckenham past and khrpa.html where a pdf can be present, his work with the downloaded. Beckenham Photographic Society On the site they say: “Where a place and the famous people who have name has been identified by a modern lived in the area. name, do you agree and if not why? He is also the founder of the “In relation to places not identified, Beckenham Heritage Group. do you have evidence to suggest their If members would like to know location? Can you identify people more about the Heritage Group Cliff mentioned in the rolls?” can be contacted on his new email A contact address is given on the [email protected] site and they have promised to respond to all submissions.

Proposal for a New Kent History Centre and Maidstone Library Kent County Council is exploring the possibility of a new purpose-built home for it's historic collections. They are proposing to build a combined library and history centre in Maidstone and are currently finalising a funding package which could lead to a bid for money from the Heritage Lottery Fund. They are keen to find out the views of users of the services and have an online questionnaire, which they would like archive users to complete. As a thank you for participating, all completed questionnaires will be entered into a prize draw to win a book token to the value of £40. You can find out more at http://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/archives- and-local-history/

4 Bromleag March 2008 News Better facilities and access at LMA The Metropolitan Archives [LMA] has re-opened after undergoing a major restoration and re-organisation. The fabric of the building, both inside and outside, has been renovated and indexes to the records have been made available electronically. LMA has put its entire catalogue online and it plans to be operating an online documents ordering system by April. It also intends to place the most popular collections on the internet by licensing a commercial partner to digitise and index the records. The parish registers will probably be the first online resource. For more information go to www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma

Meetings March — June 2008 Meetings are held at 7.45 pm on the first Tuesday of the month, from September to July, in the Methodist Church Hall, North Street, Bromley. The hall has free off-street parking, good public transport links and facilities for the disabled. Non-members are welcome at the society’s meetings for a nominal charge of £1.

4 March Kent and East Sussex Railway — Doug Lindsay 1 April Annual General Meeting Followed by Inn Signs of Kent — Peter Meiklejohn 6 May A Village Remembered — Monty Parkin 3 June A History of Fort Halstead — Dave Perry

Bromleag March 2008 5 News

Council to sell Grade II* Architect and author Ken mansion Wilson dies Council are to sell the Ken Wilson the former Deputy Grade II* Mansion House in Borough Architect for Bromley, Beckenham Place Park to raise who produced beautifully funds for £8.2m worth of illustrated books on the history and improvements to a park and the architecture of Bromley buildings, old Homesteads buildings. has died at the age of 84. Sir Steve Bullock, Lewisham’s Ken, who lived in Shoreham, mayor, said: "I hold English Heritage designed many buildings including largely responsible for our Bromley’s Churchill Theatre and difficulties.” But a spokesman for Central Library. English Heritage said the mansion He was a keen historian, author and would be eligible for a repair grant artist, and his books, including those Friends of Beckenham Place Park on Sundridge Park and High Elms are chairman David Hansom said: still in print. "Lewisham Council seems to have taken a really entrenched position A painter and historical researcher, on this. It does not seem to want to he exhibited his art and historical spend the money on the mansion displays in several libraries. He was and this seems to be driving an active member of the Shoreham everything else." and District Historical Society and gave talks on Shoreham's history.

Blue plaque commemoration for actor A blue plaque has been unveiled outside a house in Anerley to commemorate Ira Aldridge, one of the first black actors in the country. An American, born in New York, he made his London debut in 1825 and spent the next eight years playing tragic parts such as Othello. But he received a hostile press and his acting was criticised on racial grounds. So he moved out of London and donned wigs and white make-up to perform traditionally non-black parts such as Macbeth, Shylock and King Lear. By the time he performed again in London in the late 1840s, his reputation was assured and the press were unanimous in their praise. On his return to London he settled in Anerly at 5 Hamlet Road, his final home, which he named Luranah Villa after his mother. He died in August 1867 while on tour in Lodz, Poland.

6 Bromleag March 2008 News

Review of 30 year rule New curator for Priory The Government has Marie-Louise Kerr has been commissioned a review to look at appointed as curator of Bromley whether the 30-year-rule — which Museum at The Priory, Orpington. does not allow records that have Before coming to Bromley, Marie- been transferred to The National Louise, 28, was curator of the Archives to be opened until after Embroiderers’ Guild Museum 30 years — should be changed and Collection at Hampton Court Palace public access allowed earlier. She studied ancient history at the University of St Andrews and was a The Prime Minister has asked Paul museum officer at Cheshire Military Dacre, Editor in Chief of Associated Newspapers and member of the Press Museum in Chester. She said she is Complaints Commission, working with very excited about the opportunity to Sir Joseph Pilling (former Permanent work with the Roman artefacts and Secretary of the Northern Ireland ruins of the borough. Office) and historian, David Cannadine, to review the current arrangements. £10m lottery grant for The review team will put forward Cutty Sark their proposals in the spring. THE Heritage Lottery has given a

£10m grant for the restoration of Objections to rebuilding of the Cutty Sark at , which was badly damaged by a fire last church May while part way through a £25m Action Group are conservation project. among objectors to the demolition The cash means the original plans and rebuilding – with additional for the ship can go ahead. Cutty Sark housing on the site – of St Trust chief executive Richard Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Doughty said: "It would have been a tragedy if the fire at the 11th hour was in St Mary Cray . allowed to jeopardise the project.” The objections are on The work will include suspending environmental grounds and there is the ship 3m above its original evidence a Roman thoroughfare ran position, allowing visitors to walk through the area. underneath, and encasing it in a glass English Heritage is recommending bubble. an assessment of the plan's There are plans to install a viewing archaeological implications platform so people can get up close to the ship during restoration.

Bromleag March 2008 7 Society meeting Revealing Bromley’s 2007 archives harvest

There was a bumper harvest of archives for members to browse and enjoy when Bromley Local Studies library opened its’ doors one evening in November just for BBLHS members. Local studies librarian Simon Finch had gathered together over a dozen documents that had been newly acquired by the library over the past twelve months. Most, he said, had been brought in by members of the public who wanted to ensure their documents were preserved and available for other people to research. These included a history of the railways in Bromley by Janice Barber; photographs and a programme from the Olympic Association Games – , 1938; the wartime papers of Mr RT Springate and a donation of various documents relating to the history of Beckenham by BBLHS member Chris Proteous, who has now moved from the borough. There were also documents and plans relating to Buckhurst Lodge in , 1895 – 1905, donated when their owner emigrated to Australia. The library has also purchased some material including an autographed letter from Richmal Crompton. This was one of the smaller items on show, at the other end of the scale Simon with the help of our chairman Tony Allnutt had rescued the archives of SIRA [Scientific Instruments Research Association] which had been based at Chislehurst. These, quite extensive, boxes of documents including minute books, ledgers, journals and research, will remain in Bromley only for the short term. “We are probably not the ideal home for this but we are looking after it while we search for a better repository,” said Simon. But it was not just the newly acquired items that were on show. There were also the newly discovered items, which have been hiding in the library’s extensive archives. Orpington records included 1924 plans for proposed shops in the High Street – which did not turn out quite as the original drawings had shown. And more short term, the town’s plans for celebrations of King George V’s silver jubilee celebrations in 1935. An interesting plan of the Bromley Union Workhouse revealed that a private house had been surrounded on three sides by the workhouse. One wonders how the owners felt about that?

8 Bromleag March 2008

Society meeting

PhotographCliff Watkins

Bromley local studies librarian , Simon Finch, chats to David Johnson and other members of the society .

The workhouse plan, the map of the Knoll Estate in Beckenham and papers relating to the Bromley War Refugees Voluntary Committee were among the items that gave rise to plenty of debate and discussion when members had the opportunity of looking at all the material in detail after Simon’s initial introductions. A report can never do justice to this annual event when we all get a chance to dip into the archives, have hands on experience of an array of new material and chat to each other and the library staff about the archives, sharing interests and knowledge. It takes a lot of time and effort and our thanks go to Simon and his team for arranging what is always one of the most enjoyable meetings of the year.

Continued on P12

Bromleag March 2008 9 Society meeting Stocking up the book shelves Below are listed some of the very interesting local histories and useful general local history reference books added to the reference library collection in local studies over the past 12 months. Reference books Tracing the history of your house The Duckham’s Story: a century of Nick Barratt fighting friction Robin Wager Home Front: how Britain survived For many years oil company the Great War Ian Beckett Duckham had their headquarters in Writing local history John Beckett West Wickham Workhouses; the people, the places, Dictionary of British Housebuilders; the life behind the doors Simon a twentieth century history Fred Fowler Wellings House Histories for Beginners Colin Many of the firms mentioned were Style involved in developing Bromley’s Researching London’s Houses Colin suburbs Thom The mapmakers: a history of Books with a local interest Stanfords Peter Whitfield Church Organs in the Churches of Both the firm’s founder Edward the London Borough of Bromley Stanford and his son Edward Jnr Albert Jempson were Bromley residents living in This is an old typescript, found Elmfield Road and Widmore Road recently in the archives, which Simon has had bound. It has a Chambers’ London Gazetteer Russ section on most local churches, Willey describing the history and workings A guide to all parts of London of each organ and must be the including a surprisingly large number definitive work on the subject. of Bromley locations. Some of the information is taken from the Ideal Eric Lyons & Span Barbara Simms Homes website. This has references to the West Oak Kemnal Manor, Chislehurst – an 850 and Rectory Green developments in year history Tony Allen Beckenham by the Span architectural practice.

10 Bromleag March 2008 Society meeting From printed page to web page

Two of the books mentioned opposite have complementary web sites, which are well worth browsing. Kemnal Residents Association has created an excellent and extremely comprehensive web site on the history of Kemnal Manor at www.kemnal-road.org.uk There is an “incomplete history” of the road — which is actually quite comprehensive — setting it in the wider history of Chislehurst and Kemnal Manor. The history is predominantly concerned with the past 130 years when the manor was sold for development. First the great house of was built and then the other substantial Victorian country residences that defined the road until the later part of the 20th century. There are pages, text and photos, devoted to the houses and the wealthy and influential families who lived there. The site was launched last October but it is a work in progress and new material about the houses and the families will be added. The second web site, which I wrote about when it was launched in 2003, is the Ideal Homes web site http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk It is a great site to get a flavour of the history of south east London suburbia — Bromley, , Greenwich, Lewisham, and . A joint venture between the boroughs and Greenwich University, Simon Finch has added many more pictures, maps and short histories for Bromley since the launch. Bromley has 19 area history pages and additional picture pages. For those who are already knowledgeable about Bromley history it will be light reading but Ideal Homes is a marvellous gateway into the history of our neighbours. Each borough has pages which are equally populated with maps, pictures and potted histories. For one or two areas such as Blackheath, Norwood and there are quite extensive histories. My only criticism is that there is no easy navigation between the picture and the text pages and it would be easy to go into the picture pages and not realise there were histories as well. But don’t be deterred it is a good site to dip into and browse around.

Bromleag March 2008 11 Society meeting Helping to preserve Bromley’s archive films

Some time ago the society ventured into the world of the DVD and one or two local cine and camera clubs were approached to do the technical part of any project. One club, Spring Park Cine and Camera Club [SPCVS], came back very enthusiastically and we discussed our plans for recording old and new Bromley on DVD. At the same time we were approached by the Bromley College who were launching a campaign to raise funds to update their buildings and were considering publishing a book. We proposed a DVD/video, they accepted the idea enthusiastically and so we produced, with the expertise of the Spring Park Cine Club, the DVD Bromley’s best kept secret, which has been a great success’s Our next project was to be a series of DVD’s/video’s about the historic places and people in the borough. This had only reached the outline planning stage when the SPCVS came up with their own project of converting onto a modern medium all the cine films held in the archive of the Local Studies Library in Bromley. The existence of these films was well known to our society and at one time our late chairman, Eric Inman, and a member of the SPCVS, Eric Spottiswood, transferred some of them onto video tape, but the transfer of all of them onto a more modern medium had not been attempted. We felt that this was important as, left in their present state, they would deteriorate to become unviewable. We decided that this should be our next joint project and BBLHS bid for a lottery grant to cover the considerable cost. We have come to expect that these applications are successful and we were not disappointed and the funding has allowed all the films to be transferred to DVD. At this time the SPCVS decided that this sort of thing was not what the club should be doing and a few members, who were keen to see this project through and develop similar projects, formed a separate organisation called Footprint Productions. They are now producing short films taken from these archive films.

Brian Reynolds

12 Bromleag March 2008 Society meeting A glimpse of early 20th century Orpington

At the last meeting of 2007 Mike Shaw of Footprints presented a film show of the first of these precious old films to have been transferred to DVD. He had hoped to show films of Orpington and Beckenham but unfortunately there are still copyright issues to be resolved with the Beckenham films so Continued on p12

Time of change: A still from one of the Orpington films showing the George V jubilee celebrations in 1935. In the background are the newly built shops, which are ‘to let’, on the corner of the High Street and Knoll Rise. In front of the shops is part of the wall of Pineridge the house that was demolished to make way for the new development. The wall must have been retained to protect the building materials which are still stacked behind it.

Bromleag March 2008 13 Society meeting

only the Orpington films, entitled Orpington Remembered, were shown. Everyone, whether they were recalling their own Orpington childhoods or knew little of the southern end of the borough was enthralled by these old films. The films were probably made for the Spencer-May family — who for four decades ran cinemas in Orpington — so they could add an important item of local news to the national bulletin. But who was behind the camera remains a mystery. There is a sequence of films from 1929 through to the 1930s showing, among other events, commemorations around the War Memorial, the opening of what is now Park and a football match featuring Cray Wanderers (sadly being defeated) and a wedding of one of the Spencer May girls, pictured above. Unusually, for non commercial films of the time, they are 35 mm but they would have needed to be that size as the cinema projectors only took 35 mm films. It would have cost several thousand pounds to buy a 35 mm camera in the 1920s. It is not known how the films came to be in the library but Mike Shaw believes they were probably found in a cupboard in the projection room when the Commodore cinema, which was built by Spencer May in 1933, was demolished in 1982. He says the local news item was probably spliced onto the end of the main distributors national news reel and when the newsreel was returned to the distributor the local section was taken off and stored in a cupboard.

14 Bromleag March 2008 Society meeting

The last of the films restored by Footprints — which was made by a professional news company — featured a gala opening at the Commodore in the 1950s. There was only a section of this film in the archive but Footprints tracked down the whole film to the National Film Archive. Quality of the early films is patchy, and that may be because the man behind the camera was not a professional film-maker. But Footprints have enhanced the films. Before showing them, Mike demonstrated the huge improvement that digital transcription could achieve over a straight transfer to video tape, as had been done previously. The increase in clarity and contrast was quite remarkable. The next projects with these films will be the Beckenham selection and Footprints are also working with Cliff Watkins of the BBLHS on a two-disc epic The Blytons of Beckenham about Enid and Cary Blyton.

Orpington Remembered is available to BBLHS members at a special discount price of £10 + £1 post and package from Brian Reynolds [for contact details see inside cover] and will also be on sale at meetings.

Working together in local and family history

Local and family history, inevitably, interweave but the two came firmly together at our January meeting when the North West Kent Family History Society [NWKFHS] and BBLHS held a joint meeting Families in Local History. The talk was the natural progression of a joint exhibition that the two societies held at Bromley Library last year, and members had a chance to view the exhibition boards as well as listen to the speakers. Our secretary Patricia Knowlden gave the local history perspective talking about the research that she and Joyce Walker had done on families within the context of their communities. Joyce researched the Killick family, a major joinery firm in West Wickham, and Patricia the Martin family, who farmed in the area for four generations.

Bromleag March 2008 15 Society meeting

As a local historian Patricia has built up, over the years, records on all the West Wickham families from local records including parish records, censuses, Manorial Court Rolls, rentals and deeds and hearth and land tax records for the 17 th and 18th centuries, respectively. Quarter Sessions records and poor law records as well as more obscure records from the National Archives have helped Joyce and Patricia collect a comprehensive archive of material on the families of West Wickham and also the Giles family of Bromley.* Approaching the family from the personal rather than the geographical context was Peter Crawley of the NWKFS, who has researched his family. As many will find researching ancestors their roots lie elsewhere. Peter’s Victorian ancestors came to Penge from Hertfordshire, moved into and around London for a little bit and then settled in Penge. In the display that accompanied his talk he had highlighted on a map how they moved to the next street or around the corner from one census to another. He commented wryly that it might have been because they were getting wealthier and moving up in the world or because they “were avoiding the rent man.” Angela Verrells of NWKFS was unable to make the meeting but Patricia outlined Angela’s research into the Verrells family, saddlers and harness makers in Chelsfield. Here the movement of the family from Shoreham to Chelsfield in the late 18th century was triggered because there were too many sons in the family for them all to continue the family business in Shoreham. Their last saddlers shop in Chelsfield closed in 1917 ending almost a century of Verrell saddlers in the village. The final speaker, Tony Allnutt, brought together not only family and local history but also house history. When he started working for SIRA in the 60s the offices were based in a marvellous old house in Elmstead Woods, called Sitka. Tony said it was a great building to work in and thought it would have been an even better one to live in. Over the following decades he has researched the house and family and discovered a fascination history. An article by Tony on Sitka and the Teichmann family follows. *An article by Patricia, on the Giles family of Bromley and some of the sources she used, will appear in a later edition of Bromleag.

16 Bromleag March 2008 Feature

The Teichmann family of Sitka By Tony Allnutt

This is an outline of the history of a remarkable Chislehurst resident, his family and the house in which they lived. Emil Teichmann was born in Ulm Germany on 7 November 1845. His father was a fur merchant and Emil entered the same trade, first in Hamburg and then with the New York branch of the London company JM Oppenheim. Oppenheims had a contract with the Russian Government to take the entire output of fur seals from Alaska, but in 1867 the USA purchased Alaska from Russia and this contract was cancelled. Emil Teichmann, now just 22, was chosen to travel to Alaska to safeguard the interests of the Company. He travelled by steamer to the Isthmas of Panama, crossed this by train and proceeded up the West coast of America to Vancouver Island. From there he engaged a 20-foot sailing boat in which he made the hazardous voyage to Sitka, the chief town of Alaska, in 26 days. After many adventures and dangers this young man renegotiated the contract for fur seals to the great advantage of the London trade. Emil then worked with Oppenheims in London and in 1875 married Mary Lydia Schroeter of Mottingham at St Nicholas Church, Chislehurst. Emil and Lydia lived first at a house named Sitka in North Park, where their six children were born. Then, in 1883, they had a large house, also called Sitka, built on an eight-acre site at Elmstead Woods. Ernest Newton was the architect. Emil Teichmann was an original member of the Chislehurst Golf Club and in 1904 he was involved in the foundation of the Hornbrook House Convalescent Home at Chislehurst, which was taken over as a Red Cross hospital in 1914. Emil Teichmann During the war he visited wounded soldiers in the hospital daily and once a week entertained some of them at Sitka.

Bromleag March 2008 17 Feature He was one of the group of eminent bankers and merchants who, on 2 August 1914, were summoned to meet Lloyd George to discuss the national financial crisis. This upright and hospitable gentleman died on 20 March 1924 and his wife a few years later. The couple had three sons and three daughters. The eldest son Max lived at New Romney and was in 1938-9. Oskar was a doctor and author and Eric was a diplomat with the British Consular Services in China. He was murdered by an American serviceman on his estate in Norfolk in 1945. After the death of Mrs Teichmann Sitka remained unoccupied until the early days of WWII when it was taken over by a department of the Southern Railway Company. The well-known railway publisher, Ian Allan, was based there and writes: “One of the rooms on the ground floor was used as a staff dining room, manned by displaced restaurant car staff resplendent in their restaurant car uniforms.” In 1948 Sitka was bought by the British Scientific Insturment Research Association [BSIRA], later Sira Ltd, who moved to Elmstead Woods from Russell Square in London. Some modern laboratory buildings were put up in the grounds but the house has remained virtually unchanged except for retiling of the roof and certain interior modifications to meet fire regulations. For 58 years Sira continued to operate from Sitka employing some 150 – 200 staff. Earlier this year Sira ceased to trade and the site has been sold to developers. All the laboratory buildings will be demolished and the house is to be divided into apartments. A range of houses will be built in the grounds. So after about 80 years Sitka will again be occupied by families. They will, no doubt, take note of the inscription, which Emil Teichmann had carved over the door in 1883: Welcome by day and welcome by night The smile of a friend is a ray of light

References Emil Teichmann A journey to Alaska, 1925 [reprinted 1963] Oskar Teichmann The Teichmann Family 1927 Oskar Teichmann Black Horse Nemo 1957 Personal communications from Teichmann family members

18 Bromleag March 2008 Society Meeting

Sitka

Evolution of an exhibition The exhibition was originally thought of to mark and celebrate the Family History’s Silver Jubilee, but not soon enough, so was late in happening. Much of local history is the history of families and the concept of family history is largely the placing of families in their locality, and our two societies have a number of members in common. Together we set up a small group headed by Angela Verrells of NWKFHS and Tony Allnutt for ourselves and people ‘offered’ to make a display of local families they had studied. Similar size and colour of mounts and the size of printing fonts were agreed, but otherwise text and illustrations varied according to what was available. We tried to spread exhibits across our area and historical time and across the social scale. We had full support of Local Studies Librarian Simon Finch, who booked us in for the whole of October; eventually the display stayed up until Christmas. The exhibition has been used on open days and at the NWKFHS’s AGM and now at our own meeting. It was a most successful joint venture and we wish to thank, Simon, Angela and her colleagues and all our members who were involved, for all the time, effort and expertise they put in. Patricia Knowlden Bromleag March 2008 19 feature A hard but happy rural life

The reminiscences of Ernest Dolley

In 1899 eight year old Ernest Dolley moved with his parents and eight brothers and sisters from to Knockholt – back to a district in which the Dolley family had lived for generations. Ernest, who died in 1971, was a strong-minded character with a sharp memory and in his later years he wrote a memoir of his life. His daughter Jean Burgess, who lives at Chelsfield, very kindly photocopied these reminiscences for Geoffrey Copus, and has provided the accompanying photographs of Ernest and his brother George. The brothers were both in the ill-fated expedition to Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) in 1915. Luckily for him, Ernest went down with malaria and remained in hospital, but George was among the thousands of troops who pushed on to the town of Kut, where they were besieged by the Turks. The town fell in April 1916 after a three month siege - a low point in British military history - and poor George was among the many soldiers who died in captivity. His name appears on the War Memorial at Chelsfield, and also on the recently-restored Memorial in Farnborough churchyard. In these extracts Ernest recalls working – as a child and before he joined the army – in the orchards and hop gardens of Kent at a time when the valleys along the North Downs were the market garden of London. It was a hard but happy life.

20 Bromleag March 2008 feature in the fruit fields of Kent

ather had been offered a job managing some parcels of fruit land for his F sister (a widow). This was a bad move, for in the first fruit season his sister died so he had to take up casual work. My brother George was two years older than I – we both attended the school at Knockholt under Mr. Withes. Times were very hard for mother, so father being often out of work he took William, Bert and George (Ernest’s older brothers) down to the hop country. However they did not earn much and sent very little home. My sister Ellen and I augmented the income by picking blackberries and selling them to the wholesaler who took them to Covent Garden Market. All we were paid was 2d a pound. In the winter months father went woodcutting. To get this employment the men used to attend the auction sale, which was how the wood was sold, mostly coppice, anything nine-12 years old. The auction was generally held at the Polhill Arms, Halstead. The items cut were poles for hops, hoops for barrels, broom handles, clothes props, bean sticks and pea boughs, flower sticks etc. Sometimes they would leave woodcutting for a day and go beating, stirring up pheasants, or partridges as the case may be. The money for a day’s work was 3s plus one pint of beer, and bread and cheese. The boys got 1s 6d, and beating for partridges one would walk miles. Sometimes if the mood was good there would be a rabbit for the beaters. In Knockholt, near the school, Ernest and his wife Lydia in later life there was a tower called

Bromleag March 2008 21 Feature

Vavasseurs Tower; it had never been finished. The owner I believe was a Frenchman and he was very good to the unemployed, he would employ them to build a wall, then the next winter he would employ them to knock it down again. Knockholt is a very pretty village and although we never had much money times were happy. Sometime about 1900 we were on the move again, this time to the next village, Halstead. Father got a job with cottage in a fairly large fruit farm. In the summer he was foreman over the pickers. There were two foremen, one looking after the home dwellers and one looking after the gypsies. Father chose the latter. During the fruit-picking season we had to get up soon after 2am and out in the strawberry fields at 3am. The price for picking was 5d for 14lbs, although some growers only paid 4d. Also we had to turn out some evenings from 6pm to dark. After the strawberries were finished there were raspberries, we were

Beckenham Parish church in 1921: Ernest’s bride, Lydia Alice Lusted, was a war widow. The elderly lady with baby on her lap is grandmother Dolley.

22 Bromleag March 2008 Feature paid 1s for 28 lbs. They were picked in composition pails, and afterwards weighed and put into half-hundredweight tubs, then taken to the jam factory. Once or twice as a treat I went to London with the carman. This used to entail starting off overnight, stabling the horses in London and returning home the next day. A few weeks after the fruit season we used to go hop picking either to Shoreham or Otford. If there was a good crop of hops we were paid a shilling for eight bushels, a fair crop six or seven bushels a shilling, a very poor crop five a shilling. The Kentish Education Committee used to grant the children three weeks holiday for fruit picking and the same for hop picking. In 1901 there was another addition to the family, another girl, so that made ten, but that was the final one. During my last period at school I undertook a job after school hours. This entailed cleaning four or five pairs of muddy boots after the boots had been traipsing about the farm all day, chopping up firewood and fetching coal from the cellar, this took an hour each evening and Saturday 8am – 5 pm. I understood from the previous boy that it was 1s 6d per week. However the first week I completed I was given the magnificent sum of 8d. This upset me very much and I was very cross when I got home. It was in the wintertime, so mother went up to the farm, which entailed a muddy walk through the raspberry field and the wood. Mother however got another 4d. I stuck to the job for a few months but one evening I carried the boots from the house to the shed, sat down for a few minutes, then took them back to the house, uncleaned, and said “I am fed up with this job.” The lady of the house told Father I did not like work much. Not so much the work, it was the rate of pay I did not like. In February 1904 I passed the labourer exam and left school. My brother George got me a job at the nurseries at Knockholt. George had been working there for some time. The wages for boys leaving school were generally assessed at 1s per day. However on the Saturday payday the boss asked me how much my last employer paid me. I told him 1s 6d per day. This was not true, I had only just left school. However I got 9s a week and he gave me a shilling rise to stay on the winter, in the spring of 1905 he gave me a further 2s rise to stay on for the summer. I used to cycle from Halstead to Knockholt, the bike had solid tyres, and, if it needed repair, the Village Blacksmith undertook them. Sometime about 1905 Father was on the move again, apparently he had a difference of opinion with the farmer so got a week’s notice to get out. The family, except myself, moved to . At this period there were plenty of houses to let. As a matter of fact quite a lot of people lived in chalk

Bromleag March 2008 23 Feature

Choir boy Frank Hasted

Ready for action: a postcard sent by Ernest and George to their mother in Kinsley Road, Green Street Green, probably taken shortly after they finished their training. Ernest is the last one on the right, standing, and George is sitting in front of him.

24 Bromleag March 2008 Feature and wooden huts all the year around. I went into lodgings with the carman at the nursery, but after paying 11s per week board and lodging it only left me with a shilling for myself. However I stuck it for a few months. Father got a job at a large market garden farm at Chelsfield, so did my brother George, and after a bit I returned home and went to work with them. Most of the work was piece work; bagging up cabbages half-hundred weight bags 10d per score; weeding spring onions; loading manure from the trucks at Chelsfield station 2d per ton. I might mention that manure was a shilling per ton on rail to the farmer, it was quite common to put 40 tons to the acre. One day my brother George and I loaded 48 tons on the carts. If the manure was thrown on the sidings the price was 1½d per ton. We used to work from 6am until 6pm, 5pm on Saturday, but plenty of evenings we had to work overtime until dark. My brother George and I stayed on at the market garden farm until 1907 then early in the spring, he had a difference of opinion with one of the growers and left. The job he was doing at the time was termed mint dotting. One had to hoe out the weeds from the beds. It was not ordinary mint, but perfumed, which was cut and harvested and sent to the distillery at . I was hoeing strawberries at 3s6d per half acre. The governor did not think it right that I should hoe three acres a week and then expect to get 21s - not at my age, 16. So I packed up. We got a job planting Brussels Sprout plants. The price for planting was 10d. per thousand. George and I planted 10,000 a day between us. It was now getting on to late August so we decided we would go down to the hop country. During the hop season one can only draw half what one earns, so on finishing we had just over 30s to come. George being my elder I asked him “where now”, he said what about joining the Army so that’s what we did. At Maidstone we saw the recruiting sergeant and took the King’s Shilling plus the cost of a pint of beer. I was only 16 years 7 months so I put two years on, to make my age right. George advanced his age by a year. He passed his medical OK, but mine was a bit doubtful. The Doctor could not find anything wrong with me except for being under weight. George would not enlist unless they passed me, so in the Army we went, the Royal West Kent Regiment for seven years in the colours and five years in the Reserve.

Bromleag March 2008 25 Feature

Discovering the ponds on Bromley Common By Leonard Smith n the early 1900s, before main water supplies were introduced, ponds had their own individual importance and natural I beauty at all times of the year, providing a picturesque habitat for wild and domestic water-fowl. Ponds were also a great attraction for boys – bathing and fishing in summer and skating on the ice in the winter time. On Bromley Common there were three major ponds of particular interest and one smaller one by a farm. In the past, the whole area being low lying, Bromley Common was both wet and marshy, mainly due to the clay sub soil. As a result the ponds remained full of water even in dry seasons. This was of vital importance as a source of drinking water for domestic farm animals. The first pond was on the main Hastings Road, to the left of the Shell Garage, where there is a grass area and nearby, at the end of Cherry Orchard Road, there was a Blacksmith’s forge. It was fed by a stream whose source was a spring in Holwood Park. This pond provided water for the horses. It was enclosed by willow tress and had two entrances for horse drawn traffic. A benefit of the pond for the blacksmith was that wheeled vehicles could be driven through the water of the pond to expand the wooden wheels onto the iron rims. Water carts were also allowed to be driven into the pond in hot weather, to collect water. The carts were used to help lay the dust on the roads. Travelling towards Bromley the next large pond was actually two ponds joined by a narrow neck of water. It was sited approximately where the grass area is now to the left of Trinity Close. The pond was much favoured by ducks and geese and was also a habitat for moorhens, who nested there. Partly surrounded by trees, including willows, the excess water then ran under the main road, down Lower Gravel Road and continued along Princes Plain. These ponds were cleaned out at various periods and the mud carted away and spread on the fields. The smaller pond was by Oakley Farm close to the boundary with the main road, opposite Oakley Road. Named Leech Pond it was originally larger before the roads were raised, made up and the drainage improved.

26 Bromleag March 2008 Feature

Unfortunately, some of the ancient oaks and willow trees which partly surrounded it have been destroyed recently, to create an area for a man-made additional pond. In doing so we have lost the natural aspect of this pond’s location. The name Leech Pond is derived from the leeches that were always to be found there, much in demand by local doctors in the old days for cleaning wounds and other medical applications.

The ponds are marked by cross- hatching at A, B and C

Bromleag March 2008 27 Reminiscences

Adventure and danger in a rural childhood

John Goodworth

attended Wickham College. Of the teachers I remember only the headmistress Miss Ford, a formidable lady, Miss Shaw, who tried to teach I me piano and Miss Wall, a wispy little thing. I was nine-ish but she seemed wispy to me even then so she must have been small. She was a dear. Oh, and dear old Mr Flowerday, who was the caretaker, and from whom I borrowed a shilling once; he was a wonderful old guy. I remember the ‘air raid shelter’ too – undoubtedly it was part of a tunnel, though where it led is anybody’s guess. The confident belief at the time was Wickham Court, but if it were it would have got a bit damp around Addington Bottom, I should think. You may be wondering about my use of ‘undoubtedly’ just then? It stems from a ritual absolutely invariably followed whenever we needed to use the shelter. However dire or immediate the emergency was we were never allowed in until Miss Ford had preceded us, and when we finally got down there she would be at the far end, legs astride, hands behind her back and allowing no-one within ten feet of her, foursquare in front of the old blue blanket which screened whatever lay beyond. What that was we never discovered, but presumably it was dangerous and what appeals to little children more than an extensive tunnel – perhaps even a labyrinth? Why on earth it never occurred to me to ask Mr Flowerday – who must have known – over one of the many beers we had together in later years I don’t understand. After Wickham College closed I went to Ingleside School where Mr Matson [Fatty Matty] was the headmaster and the Misses Ball [Big and Little] were the assistants. Big was a dragon, but fair; and really rather nice; and Little was just all-round nice. At the time my playground was often Springpark Woods. Climbing, gathering chestnuts and conkers in season, and damming, diverting and generally enjoying that little stream which discharged just above where the allotments used to be, occupied countless happy days.

28 Bromleag March 2008 Reminiscences

I lost count, even then, of the number of catapults I had confiscated by the Keeper, but those round, water-tumbled pebbles just ask to be catapulted, don’t they? In later years – though not many – I made friends with one Bill Archer who was game-keeper to, I think I’m right in saying, a Mr Still. If you went across Addington Road and up the lane past the pumping station and through pine wood, at the top you would come to this surprisingly commodius, red-oxide painted, corrugated iron bungalow. He lived there with his 80-year-old mother and I’ll never forget the day when, once I’d won her acceptance, she took me into her bedroom and showed me, under her pillow, a double-barrelled 410 pistol she always kept there. Not only fully loaded; but cocked as well. How she managed never to blow her own head off I don’t know. Nor will I ever know whether she showed me out of interest or as a warning! Up there I spent countless more happy days – the place was known as The Larches by the way – sometimes with Bill, sometimes alone, rabbiting, ferreting, shooting and generally learning such countryside lore as I know. I also worked at least two summers on North Pole Farm. Mr Winterflood was the tenant – small, wiry, tireless and with a heart of gold, but very, how shall I put it, thrifty. Come pay day one could almost hear him groan with the passing of every note. He was the only farmer I’ve ever known, or heard of, who would regularly spend evenings doing his own gleaning and then stand the stalks among the uncut grain to get another chance of reaping them next day. He used a Fordson tractor, but second hand and with the old iron cleated wheels, and everything else was so pre-war that it just asked to be horse- drawn. An old reaper and binder, which of course meant sheaves followed by stooks, followed by stacks and those built entirely by pitchfork – no elevator for him – and later on pulling the stacks down again and feed the sheaves through a Ransom’s threshing machine so ancient that it had the original iron-tyred wooden wheels. As ‘the boy’ I always got the boy’s job which was, of course, the worst of the lot -in those days before cereal strains were produced to reduce chaff to almost nothing – raking the ‘casings’ away. One had to breathe through a neck cloth and the only way to find one’s way back through the fog for the next rakefull was to memorise some particular squeak, rattle or thump that the machinery was making, home in on it, count one’s paces and trust one didn’t walk into a pulley wheel.

Bromleag March 2008 29 Books

Kent's ancient history revealed Kent's early history, The Archaeology of Kent to AD 800, showcases the county's wealth of archaeological riches and tells the stories behind them. It brings understanding of the county’s archaeology up-to-date, highlighting the latest findings from investigations ahead of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and other major development sites in the county. Published by Kent County Council with Boydell and Brewer Press, the book is the eighth volume of 10 in the Kent History Project, but is the first in the series to feature such an abundance of full-colour illustrations. To order, send a cheque for £25 made payable to Kent County Council, to Publications, Environment and Waste, Kent County Council, Invicta House, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XX.

Mapping London’s history for today A set of four maps covering the development of London from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century has been produced using present day Ordnance Survey scales. Each map covers the whole modern city as far as the M25 on one sheet at the 1:50,000 scale of Ordnance Survey maps to allow easy comparison with modern day maps. Cassini Maps - a company specialising in publishing new editions of historical maps - has produced the maps at an enlarged scale to suit present-day cartography. They have added blue grid lines to the historic maps to match the national grid references, which appear on modern maps, to aid comparison between the old and new. Altogether the maps span almost 150 years - each exploring a crucial period in our capital's recent history. One covers the late Georgian period from 1805 to 1822, the second is from the late Victorian between 1897 and 1898. The other two maps are 20th-century between 1919 and 1922 and from the post- war reconstruction period between 1945 and 1948.

More information from www.cassinimpas.com

30 Bromleag March 2008 Books

Penge — The Making of a London Suburb A new book on the history of Penge looks at the area’s development from the perspective that the urbanisation of Penge can only be understood as part of London's emergence as the first capitalist world- city. Writer Martin Spence, assistant general secretary for broadcasting trade union Bectu, has written The Making of a London Suburb – Capital Comes to Penge. He says the emergence of the suburb must be considered as part of a wider process of capitalist urban development. The book is divided into two parts. Part I sets out a broad theoretical and historical framework, Part II tells the local story in detail. He describes Penge as is an “unpretentious, unremarkable, resolutely unfashionable railway suburb. It is an ordinary little place. But its ordinariness is precisely the point of this book, because the histories of ordinary little places like Penge are packed with interest, drama, and insights into the world in which we live. “It is a study of the transformation of the local landscape during the key period from the late 18th to the late 19th centuries when Penge was transformed from a semi-rural hamlet into a thoroughly urban railway suburb.” The book’s focus is upon the changing uses to which land was put and the changing ways in which land was exploited as this transformation took place. Illustrated with contemporary photos plus maps . Priced £9.95 and published by Merlin

Gunner Rodbourne goes to war The life of one of the first men in St Mary Cray to enlist in the First World War has been recorded by his great nephew, author John Pateman in, Three Years on the Western Front: Gunner Rodbourne Goes To War. Albert Victor Rodbourne, 19, joined the Royal Field Artillery in September 1914 and served almost to the end of the war when in August 1918, the shell he was carrying prematurely exploded, killing him and several others. Albert, lived in Road, St Mary Cray, and is remembered on the Orpington war memorial and also on a plaque in St Mary Cray School recording the names of pupils who died during the First World War. Albert was buried at Sucrerie Cemetery in Ablain St Nazaire, France.

Bromleag March 2008 31 Bromley Local History Society Registered Charity No 273963 History is continually being made and at the same time destroyed, buildings are altered or demolished, memories fade and people pass away, records get destroyed or thrown in the bin. BBLHS was formed in 1974 so that those with an interest in the history of any part of the borough could meet to exchange information and learn more about Bromley’s history. We aim, in co-operation with the local history library, museums and other relevant organisations, to make sure at least some of this history is preserved for future generations. We hold regular meetings and produce a newsletter and occasional publications where members can publish their research. The society covers all those areas that are within the present day London Borough of Bromley and includes : - Anerley - Beckenham - -Biggin Hill - Bromley - Chelsfield - Chislehurst - - - - Farnborough - Green Street Green -Hayes - - - Mottingham - Orpington - Penge - - St. Mary Cray - St. Paul’s Cray - - Sundridge Park - West Wickham.

http://bromleyblhs.mysite.orange.co.uk/

Subscription Rates Yearly subscription from 1 January Individual £8.50; couple £10. Senior citizens pay a re- duced rate of £6 per person or £8 for a couple. Members joining after 30 June pay half rates.

32 Bromleag March 2008